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How to Properly Use Burs on Jewelry

Burs are used to fine tune and alter jewelry, but what do you do when you come face to face with a sea of choices? First things first, burs are used according to metal type they’re going to be used on. Burs are made up of a combination of alloy and steel and work from high to low speeds, the speed used depends on the element they’re being used on.

Choosing a bur is really a matter of personal preference of the user, but some bur materials work better on certain elements than others. High-carbon Vanadium works better on gold, silver, platinum, etc., high-speed steel works better on gold, copper, brass, etc., carbide works best on titanium, stainless steel, brass, etc., and diamond works for stone, glass and precious/non-precious metals. Although many of these work on the same types of materials, it helps with deciding what bur to buy, when facing such a wide selection. Apart from different materials, burs are also available in a variety of shapes, these include ball burs, setting burs, hart burs, cone burs, inverted cone burs, cup burs, etc. each of these is used for a specific task such as hart burs being used for tapering holes or cup burs for rounding edges.

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